Drain strainer



July 23, 1957 G. M. HICKS 2,800,231

DRAIN STRAINER Filed Aug. 17, 1954 United States PatentQ DRAIN STRAINER Gordon M. Hicks, Lomita, Calif.

Application August 17, 1954, Serial No. 450,400

1 Claim. Cl. 210-463) My present invention relates to strainers to be used for covering drain openings, and it relates particularly to a drain strainer adapted to be selectively locked or released from its operative position in a drain opening.

It is well known in the art to provide brass or other metallic strainers which are adapted to fit in the drain openings of sinks, basins, urinals and the like, and which are provided with perforations to permit liquids to pass down the drain but to catch any solid materials which might possibly clog the drain pipe.

These prior art drain strainers are usually either frictionally-held in the drain opening or are screwed down. In either case, it is usually quite diflicult to remove the drain strainer for cleaning purposes because of the corrosive nature of many liquids which pass through these strainers, which causes a corrosion bond between the strainer and the drain which is usually very hard ,to break.

One of the most common uses for such drain strainers is in lavatory urinals which, in order to be kept sanitary, must be removed and thoroughly cleaned at frequent intervals, such as at intervals of about two weeks. Such frequent cleaning is required for urinal strainers used in schools by ordinances, and this requires that large numbers of these strainers be frequently removed, cleaned and then re-installed. In this type of installation the strainer plates are normally screwed or bolted down into position, in order to prevent their removal by children, which causes the removal, and re-installation to occupy considerable amounts of time and effort.

It is therefore an object of my present invention to provide a drain strainer which may be quickly and easily installed .or removed, being locked into its operative position when installed, without the necessity of removing any screws or bolts which may be corroded into locked positions, in order to facilitate periodic cleaning of the strainer.

Another object of my present invention is to provide a drain strainer which may be quickly and easily locked into its operative position in a drain opening or unlocked from this operative position by manipulation of a suitable key.

Another object of my present invention is to provide a drain strainer which may be selectively locked in its operative position in a drain opening by means of a latching engagement with the inner wall of the drain fitting.

Another object of my present invention is to provide a drain strainer which may be selectively locked in its operative position in a drain opening and in which all movable parts may be quickly and easily removed and replaced. j

Other objects and advantages of my present invention will be apparent from the following description and claim, the novelty of my invention consisting in the features of construction, the combinations of parts, the novel relations of the members and the relative proportioning, disposition and operation thereof, all as is more com- 2,800,231 Patented July 23,1957

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2 pletely described herein and as is more particularly pointed out in the appended claim. 7 p

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of my present specification:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of my invention.

Figure 2 is a vertical section taken along line 2-2 of Figure 1 showing my invention in its operative position in a drain fitting.

Figure 3 is a bottom view of my invention.

Referring to my drawings, I provide a strainer disc 10 having a plurality of perforations 12 therethrough. VA boss 14 is centrally disposed in my strainer disc 10, and boss 14 is provided with an upwardly directed, inwardly tapered splash guard 15if it is desired.

A pair of spaced flanges 16 depend from the bottom of strainer disc 10, andextend outwardly from opposite sides of: boss 14.

A central threaded bore 18 is provided through boss 14, and an enlarged counterbore 20 is provided above threaded bore 18 to leave suificient room for the entrance of a suitable operating key (not shown).

I provide a plunger 22 which ispreferably conical in shape, and whichis provided with anupwardly extending threaded shaft 24 which is threadedly mounted in central threaded bore 18. The upper end of threaded shaft 24 is squared at 26 for operative engagement with the corresponding squared opening in an operating key (not shown).

- Aplurali-ty of latch arms 28, preferably two in numher, are pivotally connected to strainer disc 10, and extend below strainer disc 10 for operative engagement with the wall of the drain fitting.

My preferred mounting of latch arms 28 includes a pair of diametrically opposed slots 30 through strainer disc 10 which are aligned with the slots' 32 between flanges 16. A pin slot 34 crosses each of the disc slots 30 at right angles thereto, the bottoms of pin slots 34 being disposed in depending flanges 16.

Latch arms 28 are provided with laterally extending pins 36 at their upper ends, and latch arms 28 are placed in their operative positions in my drain strainer by merely dropping latch arms 28 through their respective slots 30 and 32 so that pins 36 become seated in their respective pin slots 34. The seating of pins 36 in the respective pin slots 34 provides a pivotal mounting to latch arms 28.

Outwardly extending cleat portions 38 are provided at the lower ends of latch arms 28, and suitable gripping points 40 at the outer ends of cleat portions 38 are adapted to engage the wall 42 of the drain fitting.

The usual drain fitting is provided with a flange 43 at its upper end which rests against the basin or tub wall 44. The outer rim of my strainer disc 10 is adapted to seat against fitting flange 43 in the manner shown in Figure 2 of the drawings, with theouter edges of depending flanges 16 being disposed within fitting wall 42 to center my drain strainer inits operative position as shown in Figure 2.

I provide a plurality of weep holes 46 which extend radially outwardly from enlarged counterbore 20 through splash guard 15 in order to permit drainage of any fluid which may collect in counterbore 20. Y

My drain strainer is installed in a drain fitting with plunger 22 in the raised position so that the cleat portions 38 of latch arms 28 are retracted toward the center of my drain strainer. My strainer is then seated in the drain fitting in the manner shown in Figure 2 with latch arms 28 down inside of the drain fitting, and the squared end 26 of threaded shaft 24 is rotated by a suitable key (not shown) to move plunger 22 downwardly. This downward movement of plunger 22 causes plunger 22 to cam latch arms 28 outwardly until the gripping points 40 of latch arms 28 are in gripping engagement with the drain fitting wall 42 in the manner shown in Figure 2 of the drawings. 1

To remove my drain strainer from its operative position in the, drain fitting, it is only necessary to rotatethe squared end 26 f threaded shaft 24 in the opposite direction, which causes plunger 22 to be raised whereby latch arms 28 "are unlatched from their gripping engagement with the drain fitting wall 42 and my strainer may then be lifted out of the drain opening.

If it is desired to replace one or both of my latch arms 28, this may be quickly and easily accomplished by merely sliding latch arms 28 upwardly out of their operative positions through disc slots 30. New latch arms 28 then be installed by sliding the new latch arms 28 downwardly through disc slots 30 until the pins 36 of the new latch arms 28 move into their pivoting positions in pin slots 34.

My novel drain strainer presents several important features. First, my drain strainer may be quickly and easily locked in its operative position in a drain opening so that it cannot be easily removed by children or others. 7 Another advantage of my drain strainer is that it is locked in its, operative position in a drain opening by engagement ofa plurality of latch arms with the drain fitting wall rather than by either being screwed down into position or tightly frictionally wedged into its operative position. By this construction and operation, corrosive liquids passing through my strainer do not cause a corrosion bond which is diificult to break as is often the case with drain strainers that are screwed down into position or are frictionally held in position.

Another important advantage of my present inventionis that my drain strainer may be quickly and easily removed from its operative position, cleaned and replaced in its operative position. This feature is important where frequent cleaning of drain strainers is required, such as in school lavatory urinals, where large numbers of drain strainers are used.

A further important advantage of my present invention is the removable feature of my latch arms 28. If latch arms 28 become overly corroded or worn, they may be quickly and easily replaced by new latch arms 28. This removable feature of my latch arms 28 also renders my drain strainer much easier to clean than ordinary drain strainers, as the latch arms 28 may be removed for separate cleaning.

It is to be understood that the form of my invention herein shown and described is my preferred embodiment and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of my invention or the scope of my appended claim.

I claim:

A drain strainer including a perforated strainer plate, a pair of spaced, parallel flanges depending from the bottom of said plate, a slot in said plate communicating with the space between said flanges, a pin slot extending through saidplate and into said flanges at right angles tosaid first named slot, a latch arm having a lateral pin near its upper end and which is adapted to be dropped through said first named slot to be pivotally suspended below said plate-by pivotal engagement of said pin in said pin slot, and a cam member operatively engageable with said latch arm and adjustable to selectively move said latch arm into gripping engagement with the drain wall.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 864,884 Capaldi Sept. 3, 1907 969,776 Foley Sept. 13, 1910 969,881 Klemm Sept. 13, 1910 1,197,803 Dierks Sept. 12, 1916 1,653,403 McCue Dec. 20, 1927 

